As we prepare for a world without third-party cookies, advertisers are turning their focus to new ways to make impactful connections between customers and their brands. At this week’s Community Uninterrupted webinar, IAB Canada welcomed an esteemed group of industry experts to discuss new strategies and ideas for meaningful exchanges. Panelists Charles Beaulieu, Partner (Glassroom), Geneviève Guay, Présidente (Dentsu Québec), Guillaume Bouchard, Chief Executive Officer (CONTXTFUL) and Jean-Sébastien Prénovost, Director, Audience and Programmatic Solutions (Québecor ID), along with moderator Marc-André Ferguson, Chief Product Officer (CONTXTFUL), wasted no time and dove right into a dialogue around measurement pain points, defining quality ad inventory, and how to avoid arriving at another great digital reset in the years to come.
Throughout the discussion, it was made abundantly clear that avoiding patch-work solutions that only solve for short-term strategy versus long-term gain, obliterates evolution. Of equal importance is thinking about measurement in a more holistic way by putting the consumer first. Though not an entirely new concept, putting your consumer first means deeply understanding their interests, where to target, and how to effectively engage with them, through brand safe content in a compliant way. This, in and of itself, means developing strategies that may look and feel different than the ones we use today.
It also means measurement alignment – breaking free from vanity-based metrics and delving into understanding the overall equation of how each touch point contributes to the outcome against differing consumers, creative and content, while gaining full alignment on strategic objectives with each partner. Though a conclusion might be made that eroding the hunt for proof of performance-based metrics is a rather massive shift, maybe the opportunity lies in keeping consumers – not metrics – in the epicenter.
Regardless of how we got here, the panelists unanimously agreed that change is upon us and it needs to be embraced via the following:
- Put consumers first. Understand the value that you bring to them, what they like and how they receive information.
- Support quality content.
- Avoid heavy reliance on vanity-based metrics.
- Embrace creative story telling.
- Allow for innovation and adoption of technology that supports policy legislation.
- Gain consent for entering in
to a relationship with your consumer in a transparent and ethical way.
- Recognize that the digital ecosystem is complex, and continue to provide access and support for education across all facets of your business.
You can find the recording here, along with our latest release: Moving Towards Cookie Independence – a Guide to Modernized Contextual Advertising.
To get involved, please reach out to: [email protected]